Speakeasy

Search rankings are something we take very seriously at Trevelino/Keller. As an integrated public relations and digital marketing agency, we know that no amount of PR will give our clients results if people can’t find your business.

Have you Googled your business today? Google's mobile algorithm update will go into affect April 21, 2015 businesses around the world will wake up to discover their search rank nose-diving and visitor traffic tumbling. For the first time ever, Google will be using “mobile-friendliness” as a factor in its ranking algorithm for mobile search. This means sites that are read as mobile friendly by Googlebots will appear higher in search results than non-mobile sites.

Naturally, businesses and website owners who see themselves drop off in searches as a result of the mobile algorithm update will stomp their feet at the Google goliath. But, Google is big on providing a seamless user experience. Around 60 percent of search traffic comes from mobile devices, and those searchers expect to find a site that can be easily navigated and is responsive to the device they are using to search.

Google provides companies large and small with significant website traffic which translates into free potential leads. If your site wasn’t mobile by now, it was only a matter of time before it began to affect your customer experience and hinder business. So break out the ole’ marketing budget and make a little room to give site visitors a flawless mobile experience.

To earn the mobile-friendly stamp of approval from Google, a page needs to meet the following criteria:

-Uses text that can be read without zooming

-Contains content that is responsive to the size of the screen without users having to scroll horizontally or zoom

-Has links far enough apart so the correct one can be easily tapped

-Avoids software that is not standard on mobile devices, like Flash

*Remember, Googlebots will read your website on a page-by-page basis. Websites that are part mobile-friendly with lower-level pages that are unresponsive to mobile can still be dinged.

Passed? If you get a green light for mobile-friendliness, consider double-checking results with the one-finger test (or thumb, dealer’s choice). While the two-finger swipe-to-zoom feature was a big hit in 2011, today its use can be a death sentence for your site. Today’s consumer craves a seamless mobile experience. They expect to be able to navigate your website from their phone or tablet with the click of a thumb or the tap of a finger. We need our other nine for multi-tasking on other screens. Give the people what they want.

Failed? Receive the dreaded red X that your page is not mobile-friendly? Take a breath. Most websites can be converted to be mobile-friendly without starting from scratch. Don’t let your precious website fall into the black abyss that is page-2-and-beyond search results. Trevelino/Keller’s Groovy Studios team of website designers and self-proclaimed SEO nerds are here to get you mobile in no time.

About Beth Ann Walker

Beth Ann is a digital marketing specialist at Trevelino/Keller. She spends most of her day immersed in the online world and when she isn’t there you can find her adventuring outdoors or cheering on her Tennessee Vols.